There are some certainties and a few unanswered questions. Ferrari leaves the Sakhir weekend with the most effective haul of the spherical after the untouchable McLaren. The fourth place achieved by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s comeback fifth enable the Scuderia to gather helpful factors in a nonetheless missing Constructors’ rating.
Then there’s the ‘podium’ situation, which is beginning to change into an issue, because the group nonetheless hasn’t scored a top-three end for the reason that starting of the season. On this entrance, there’s a key query: how a lot did the looks of the protection automobile on lap thirty-two price Ferrari?
Ferrari (the one high group to take action) selected to start out the race on medium tyres. The plan was to maintain a wider window throughout the first stint to evaluate technique, a selection confirmed after the primary cease when each Leclerc and Hamilton fitted one other set of mediums. The second cease was deliberate for round lap forty, simply over fifteen laps from the chequered flag, however the security automobile compelled all of the automobiles into the pits on lap thirty-two.
“With out the protection automobile we may have chosen between comfortable and arduous,” Fred Vasseur defined, “however having to pit with twenty-five laps to go, the comfortable was now not an possibility.”
Ferrari opted for the safer route, going with the hards — the least performing compound however the one which assured reaching the end line with out surprises. “The protection automobile ruined our plans and perhaps that’s the place we misplaced the most effective alternatives to safe a podium,” added Fred Vasseur.
Mercedes, nonetheless, performed their wild card with Russell, going for the softs — a selection that paid off in the long run. Nevertheless it’s necessary to take into consideration the second the Scuderia goes by means of, particularly after the double zero from the disqualifications in Shanghai. The crucial now could be to profit from each alternative. “I don’t suppose the comfortable was an possibility for us,” admitted Leclerc after the race, “and I don’t suppose it could have modified a lot anyway.”
Issues might need turned out in a different way if Ferrari’s strategists had gone together with Leclerc’s concept of a one-stop race. “At one level it appeared like the fitting option to me,” Charles defined, “however we did the fitting factor, particularly contemplating the protection automobile got here out afterwards.” With a cease underneath the protection automobile, which might have then been utilized by direct rivals, Leclerc would have ended up a lot additional down the ultimate standings.
The 57 laps in Sakhir validated the technical updates dropped at Bahrain. “McLaren continues to be a step forward, however we fought with them within the second stint and we managed to battle with each the Mercedes and the Purple Bulls,” was Fred Vasseur’s evaluation.
Undoubtedly, Ferrari in Sakhir confirmed higher potential than Purple Bull, whereas within the direct struggle with Russell’s Mercedes, one thing was nonetheless lacking. The race, nonetheless, restored morale to Hamilton, who had appeared very downcast and self-critical after qualifying.
“At present we see that very small margins make an enormous distinction,” Fred Vasseur defined. “It wasn’t like that three or 4 years in the past when a five-tenths loss price you a place or a row. At present with that hole, you drop six or seven locations. I appreciated the response Lewis had yesterday, I did my greatest to encourage him a bit and at present he was in nice form. We’ll restart from there forward of subsequent week. It’s nonetheless early relating to Lewis’s adaptation to the group and the automobile — it appears he’s struggling a bit greater than Charles with rear-end stability and high-speed sections, however we’ll work to fulfill him midway, and he’ll do the identical for us.”
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